Hey everyone! I'm in the process of upgrading my PC and I've got a B365M DS3H motherboard paired with an i7-9700 CPU. I'm looking to swap my aging GTX 750 for a new RTX 3060 and also want to upgrade my RAM from an old 8GB DDR4 2600MHz to something better. I found some 16GB DDR4 sticks at 2400MHz on Facebook Marketplace. Is RAM speed really that big of a deal? Should I hold out for something faster?
3 Answers
DDR4 RAM is super affordable right now. You can easily score a 32GB kit for around $50. It’s best to avoid mixing random RAM sticks due to potential compatibility issues. If you’re on a budget, this kit is a great option: [link].
It really depends on your setup! The i7-9700 can work with 2666MHz RAM, but it'll still run on the 2400MHz you found, just with a slight performance hit. I'd suggest waiting for something faster if you can, like 2666MHz, to get the most out of your CPU and your new graphics card. Plus, both the 3060 and even the 3070 will pair nicely with that CPU!
You could also grab some 16GB 3200MHz RAM on eBay for pretty cheap—less than $30! That would give you better performance without breaking the bank.
Thanks for the advice! I'm also considering whether to go for the 3060 with a warranty or a 5-year-old 3070 for about the same price. What do you think?
Just from personal experience, while tweaking my RAM speeds, I found that moving from a 5600 CL36 kit to 5800 CL34 only reduced latency by 1.1ns. On paper, that's a decent improvement, but in my Cinebench score, it only translated to a 2% boost. If you’re not gaming at extremely high refresh rates, the speed increase might just give you 1-2 extra FPS max.
I really appreciate that! It makes sense to invest here since RAM isn’t the most expensive part of the build.